Content

We agree the following:-
To authorise the Director for Housing &
Communities to enter into a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the
provision of Emergency Accomodation at
Nyewood Lane, Bognor Regis, for a term
of 5 years with Dim West LTD as set out in paragraph
4.6.  
 
And note that the SLA will have an option for
the Council to extend the agreement for a further 5 year period,
subject to Member authority and available budgets.

Reasons for the decision

WBC Cabinet Member for Housing & Citizen
Services:
In Worthing we have 200 single person
households (63%) residing in emergency accommodation. Many of these
placements are in expensive nightly booked bed and breakfast style
places that tend to have no cooking facilities. Our strategy is to
reduce our expenditure on expensive spot booked options by seeking
out leased alternatives that relieve pressures from our budgets but
also improve the living standards of those housed there. We are
considering all opportunities in and around Worthing as we want to
keep our citizens as close by as possible so that they have access
to our services and their personal support networks, including
family members and sometimes their children.)
 
ADC Cabinet Member for Adur Homes & Customer Services:
In Adur we have 65
single persons and 32 Families in temporary accommodation. The
reasons stated above apply to both Adur
and Worthing. In Adur we have built and
are building our own temporary accommodation but we still rely
heavily on placing those in need outside the area. We must do all
we can to help those in need to stay in Adur, close to their friends and, for the Children,
close to their schools. These Joint ventures help both Adur and Worthing but more importantly our
residents.

Alternative options considered

WBC Cabinet Member for Housing & Citizen
Services:
In Worthing our strategy will be to build,
acquire and convert our own EATA provision but this takes time and
relies on external funding as well as borrowing on a spend to save
basis. Our housing need is rising and we do not have time to waste
so we need to look at leased accommodation options alongside plans
for our own accommodation. Continuing our reliance on expensive
spot booked accommodation is not financially viable and sometimes
means we have to move people at very little notice, at great
emotional expense to them, as we have no control over availability
of rooms. Our strategy is to reduce our use of spot booked to an
absolute minimum and only to give flexible options in a short term
emergency scenario.
 
ADC Cabinet Member for Adur Homes & Customer Services:
The Alternative would be to do nothing and
that is not acceptable. We must do all we can in Adur to make sure that those in need are given all
the help that we can give.